Talk about it in Gary Ferman's War Room
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas safety Major Wright has made official visits to Ohio State, Miami, Florida and Notre Dame. Within 24 hours the recruiting world will know which one the four-star safety has selected.

Wright in the No. 6 prospect in Florida.
"He told me tonight that he's going to announce his decision tomorrow," Major Wright's mother Andrea Wright said. "I didn't ask him, but more than likely it will be (announced) at his school."

Andrea Wright also said her son did not mention what time on Tuesday he will announce his decision.

If Andrea Wright knows where her son is headed, she is not letting on.

"He hasn't told me," she said. "But we'll probably talk later tonight. But I'm not going to share it with anyone. I'll let him announce it."

The 6-foot-1 and 200-pound Wright made 56 tackles and intercepted four passes as his team advanced to the state championship game this season. Wright in the No. 6 prospect in the state of Florida in the Rivals.com player rankings.

Florida football came one commitment closer today to solidifying the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class. Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas safety Major Wright is going to be a Gator.

The coveted free safety orally committed to the University of Florida and head coach Urban Meyer this morning after a season-long courtship by some of the nation's top schools. Wright chose Florida over Ohio State, Miami and Notre Dame.

''Florida is on the rise,'' Wright said.

With Wright on board, the defending national champion Gators could jump past Tennessee and others for a permanent spot as the nation's top recruiting class. Florida is currently ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com and, with 25 commitments, will likely stay put.

Wright, ranked as one of the top defensive backs of his class, helped St. Thomas Aquinas reach the Class 5A state championship game three seasons in a row. The Raiders lost to Lakeland each time.

Wright will join some of Lakeland's stars in Gainesville. Florida has commitments from six Lakeland Dreadnaughts -- in addition to star quarterback John Brantley (Ocala Trinity Catholic) and one of the top recruits in the nation, defensive tackle Torrey Davis (Seffner Armwood.)

Wright said last week that he wanted to wait until National Signing Day (Feb. 7) to announce his commitment. He said this morning that he changed his mind because ``I just had a gut feeling that Florida was for me.

''I didn't want to wait,'' Wright said. ``If I knew I was ready, then I was going to make a decision. I didn't want to take away a scholarship from anyone else just because I was holding out.''

Ohio State was at the top of Wright's list since the preseason. He said Florida's win over Ohio State had nothing to do with his choice.

''That was just one game,'' Wright said. ``Teams have bad games.''

Wright is the second St. Thomas football player in two years to commit to Florida. In 2006, offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert signed with Florida. Wright said that he has not spoken with Gilbert yet.

With the graduation of Florida safety Reggie Nelson, Wright has a chance to make an immediate impact for the Gators. Coaches have told him that he will have a legitimate chance to receive playing time his freshman season. Many recruiting analysts believe Wright has the body -- six-one, 200 pounds -- to start as a freshman.

While Wright chose Florida, the University of Miami and new head coach Randy Shannon made an impressive push this week, according to Wright. Prior to Shannon's hiring, Miami had fallen off Wright's list of top schools.

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Olive Branch (MS) High School QB Cannon Smith will be on Miami's campus for an official visit this weekend.

He says he received a UM offer recently during an in-home visit with coach Joe Pannunzio.

"They said they have an offer for me, that they're very interested," Smith said. "I'm looking forward to going down there and meeting with coach [Randy] Shannon and seeing what their plan for me might be and checking out the campus."

Smith says he has narrowed his choices to Miami, Ole Miss and Hawaii.

He's already graduated high school and says he also has a backup option: "If I really don't feel completely comfortable with any of those top three I might take a semester at Hargrave (Military Academy)," he says. "That might be an alternative to taking a redshirt year."

Smith is looking forward to his UM visit for another reason: He's going to the Super Bowl afterward with his family.

His father, Fred, is founder and CEO of FedEx.

That comes in handy for tickets, but Smith says it's also a reason he's looking to go a little farther from home for college.

"That's something that appeals to me about Miami is it's harder around here [in Mississippi] to make my own name for myself," Smith said. "It appeals to me to get farther away from here to where it's not as big a deal. I have to be twice as good as the next person to get a spot on the field [here], but it's also good for me. [Having a wealthy father] makes people doubt me and say `It's because of my dad.' It makes me want to prove everyone wrong."

Smith says not to expect a decision from him right after the UM visit.

He wants to talk things over with his family.

But he's excited about what Miami has to offer.

"It's about as big-time as it gets," he said. "It's one for the most winning programs in the past 20 years. They're doing some things right down there. I've heard about the tradition and the attitude they have there and how hard they work. They produce a heck of a lot of great players. That all appeals to me. It's big-time football. You're surrounded by a lot of great athletes."

Just don't use the following line with Smith: `You've got a cannon for an arm.'

It's been well used.

Of course, it's convenient his name is "Cannon."

His birth name is Frederick Buchanon Smith.

"I've been called `Cannon' since birth," Smith said. "Everyone my whole life has called me that. I started playing quarterback when I was 6."

Smith says he's heard comparisons to Drew Brees in his playing style.

"[At 6-foot-1] I'm not one of these big 6-5 pocket passers that sits back there and slings it," he said. "I can move and go and get some second and thirds looks if I need to and buy some time. I'm pretty good at making all the throws."

Another quarterback who can make some throws is expected to join the Cane ranks tomorrow.

If Robert Marve commits tomorrow as expected, does that affect Smith?

"Not at all," Smith said. "You're going to have to compete. Whoever they get this year they'll go out next year and try to find someone better. It's part of the game. The best one is going to play."

At 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds and with 4.75-second speed, Cannon transferred to Olive Branch High this year from Memphis (Tenn.) Christian Brothers, where he platooned at quarterback as a junior.

He quickly won the starting job at Olive Branch and finished the year throwing for over 2,400 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for over 500 yards with seven more scores.

He helped his team finish ranked No. 2 in the state's biggest classification, 5A.

"Cannon is a great player, a great competitor," Olive Branch High coach Scott Samsel said. "He really impressed me. I've been in this business 22 years. I've had four head coaching jobs at different schools. I've had a lot of good players over the years and some good quarterbacks, but Cannon by far is the best pure quarterback out of the bunch. I've had some other just good athletes at the quarterback position, but I've never had one that did as many things off the field in preparation as far as film study, getting extra throws. He prepares himself really well. He studies the game, is a very intelligent player. That makes for good habits for success.

"The thing that impressed me the most with him was just his accuracy. We had a lot of drops -- he was around 50 percent on the year -- but I would say he was less than three percent that you would call a bad ball."

Samsel adds, "If you get any one of my game films, all 14 games, you're going to see the same thing -– him making throws. It was a fun thing to watch. He reads defenses very well, throws the ball in spots very well."

Samsel says he's spoken with Hurricane coaches and that "They like him. They liked what they saw on film. Cannon's excited about the visit, coming down, the possibility of maybe becoming a part of that great program. You look over the last 20 years, I can't think of a program that's done more than Miami."